Thursday, September 30, 2010

Fujitsu to Manufacture CMOS Sensors for Sony

Nikkei: Sony will subcontract the manufacture of CMOS image sensors to Fujitsu in an arrangement aimed at lowering production costs without revealing proprietary technologies to overseas foundries.

Update: Reuters quotes Nikkei that Sony will begin subcontracting output to Fujitsu as early as the current business year to next March at a pace of several thousand silicon wafers a month and may expand more depending on the impact on its cost base.

Sony is the world's No.6 maker of CMOS sensors with an output capacity equivalent to 16,000 silicon wafers a month, according to the Nikkei. The deal with Fujitsu should allow Sony to meet growing demand for image sensors while keeping production costs in check and safeguarding its proprietary technologies in Japan, the Nikkei business daily reported.

A spokesman for Sony said the electronics giant has been considering outsourcing some image sensor production to meet strong demand driven by growing sales of advanced digital cameras and smartphones, but declined to comment further. A Fujitsu spokesman declined to comment.

Update #2: Jiji Press says that Fujitsu, will undertake 80-90% of the manufacturing process, while Sony will handle the remaining part of the process. Fujitsu willuse its plant in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, for the sensors production, according to Jiji sources.

8 comments:

  1. This probably means Sony is going after OVT, Aptina and other such companies on sensor pricing?
    It'll be interesting to see if they can get the same quality without revealing proprietary technologies to Fujitsu though....

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  2. Sony should buy out Aptina :)

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  3. I don't think it means that Sony is going after lower price competition. I think this is an extension of their ongoing fab-lite strategy.

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  4. "It'll be interesting to see if they can get the same quality without revealing proprietary technologies to Fujitsu though...."

    1st phrase:
    --> Sony will subcontract the manufacture of CMOS image sensors to Fujitsu in an arrangement aimed at lowering production costs without revealing proprietary technologies to overseas foundries.

    It means that the proprietary technologies stay IN JAPAN.

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  5. Then the japanese engineers can fly to Taiwan during the weekend to propagate the technologies ...

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  6. It is easier to sue Fujitsu if it violates Sony patents than to sue some company in another country for doing the same.

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  7. "Then the japanese engineers can fly to Taiwan during the weekend to propagate the technologies ..."
    This comment shows ignorance of Japanese culture

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  8. hi we need cmos image sensewhere tr to make a macroscopic cameras like exmor sony where we can get.

    vijay
    freedomvijay@gmail.com

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